A recent news story said that San Francisco real estate agents claim that the rapid expansion of the AI industry is helping fuel a ‘mansion shortage.’
As the AI industry creates new wealth, more buyers are competing for a limited number of large single-family houses.
Dozens of homes reportedly sold for at least $1 million above their asking prices, and even all-cash offers on properties listed for as much as $25 million have been outbid.
Well, we know what they mean by ‘mansion’ in that context: ‘a very large, impressive, or stately residence’ (Dictionary.com).
Here in Australia, we might call a very large, flash house in the suburbs a ‘MacMansion’—combing ‘mansion’ with the abbreviation of ‘MacDonalds’ (hamburger joints pretending to be ‘restaurants’).
Similarly, a ‘MacMansion’ is a two-storey suburban home pretending to be a lord’s residence.
And in Britain ‘mansion’ can have another meaning— ‘Each of a number of separate dwelling places or apartments in a large house’ (Oxford).
Hence, there might be a building called ‘Belgravia Mansions.’
But this use of ‘mansion’ for multiple dwelling places has a distinguished history.
When William Tyndale did his famous translation of the Bible in 1526 (from the original Greek) he translated Jesus’ words as: ‘In my Father’s house there are many mansions’ (John 14:2).
The original Greek text uses a word (monai) which is probably better translated ‘abodes’ (or dwelling places)—this is the plural form of a word that means tarrying or stopping or abiding place.
And this may, indeed, lie somewhere in the background of our English word ‘mansion’—having travelled through Latin and French to make its way into English, where it turned up around 1375.
Tonight I will join Peta Credlin on News24 for 'Words Matter.'
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BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
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